Spies locks into cruise control at superbikes

TOOELE — In review, the first of two superbike races at Miller Motorsports Park was over at the start. Ben Spies won the pole position. Spies got the hole shot and grabbed the lead before the second-place rider was able to pop the clutch. Spies held the lead from start to finish and was never challenged.

He won the 21-lap race around the three-mile track by 7.2 seconds over runner-up and teammate Mathew Mladin. And in so doing proved once again why he wears the No. 1 plate on the front of his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Mladin also rides a GSX-R1000 Suzuki and his margin over third-place Jake Zemke on a Honda CBR1000RR was 7.5 seconds.

Spies' run was pretty much uneventful. He called it a "picture perfect race ... I got the hole shot and just tried to keep it clean." Which he did.

He said he did hit a rough spot coming out of the first turn.

"I hit the same spot a couple of times last year, too. The only thing you can do is keep on the throttle and ride it out." Which, of course, he did.

Spies won one of the two superbike races last year.

Mladin's ride was more eventful. Sitting in the No. 2 spot next to Spies, he got a bad start and went into the first turn in fourth place, well behind Eric Bostrom on a Yamaha YZF-R1, who was second. On the second lap, however, Bostrom spun out on turn No. 2. Mladin was able to use the distraction to pass Roger Hayden on a Kawasaki ZX-10R and take over second.

At that point, the only jousting for position was between Miguel Duhamel on a Honda CBR100RR and Jamie Hacking on a Kawasaki ZX-10R for fifth and sixth. The two were tire-to-tire the entire race, separated at most by four-tenths of a second. Hacking, however, was never able to pass.

Mladin said after the race that he had tire trouble, which he didn't realize until about the halfway mark.

The trouble may have kept him from catching Spies, but it didn't slow him from extending his lead over Zemke, who won one of the two races at last year's event. Mladin went from a lead of a few 10ths of a second to more seven seconds, which at speeds approaching 170 miles per hour is more than a city block.

Zemke, riding a Honda CBR1000RR, said his bike started to overheat in the 100-degree weather, "but I was able to get behind and draft and cool the bike down a little."

The series continues today with three main races — the superstock at 1 p.m., the supersport at 2 p.m. and the second race in the superbike series at 3 p.m.

Earlier in the day, a celebrity race was held with the field of 10 driving the park's modified Mustangs rather than motorcycles.

Winning the race was Ron Duncombe, driver of a monster truck, second was Danny Allen a co-host on KJZZ and third was Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Huntsman, an avid dirt-bike rider, said the experience was exciting, but he's not yet ready to change his active life from two wheels to four.

Gates to the park will open at 7 a.m. The morning will consist of warm-up runs that will lead to the afternoon finals.

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